In some works of art, the artists’ identity is on full display—something true for the exhibit, Seeing Ourselves.
From Sept. 5 to Oct. 5, the walls of the Tett Gallery at the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning are filled with 37 different self-portraits as part of Seeing Ourselves: Self-Portraits by the Artists of OKWA. The exhibition brings together members of the Organization of Kingston Women Artists—a non-profit group of women artists in Kingston—for a collective exploration of identity and self-representation. The titular theme, “Seeing Ourselves,” expands the idea of a self-portrait to include all aspects of the artist’s life.
From the moment I walked into the Tett Gallery, I was struck by the sheer scale of Seeing Ourselves. Featuring a diverse range of mediums, including sculptures, paintings, and photography, the exhibit “made for a fascinating show,” Co-Curator Jane Derby said in an interview with The Journal.
As impressive as the exhibition’s scale was, its variety shocked me. Given the expanded definition of “self,” the works offered dozens of reinterpretations of what a self-portrait can be across different mediums. Some stayed traditional, like Diane Black’s Self-Portrait – A Study in Greys, an oil painting on board. Others took a looser approach, like J.T. Winik’s Self-Portrait Age 4, which featured a crude depiction of Winik as a child.
Other artists embraced abstraction and metaphor. Adele Webster’s Out of the Blue stood out as a circular acrylic painting of an ocean and sunset. “This painting is a reflection of my inner self, a self-portrait expressed through the language of water,” Webster wrote in her artist statement. Similarly, Derby’s own Brainwaves – A Diptych manifested her inner self through abstract spiral pigments applied onto ground lath. “This work is about my brain and my creative process,” Derby wrote in her artist statement.
For Derby, the diversity of mediums added to the show’s appeal. “All this variety makes it a joy to hang, because we can alternate different types of work,” she told The Journal. Just about every type of visual art was represented. Especially impressive to me were the half-dozen sculptures, which stood on pedestals rather than hanging on the walls. The most striking was Gaia: Avenger by Leisa Rich, a massive figure taller than me. It was constructed from a colourful selection of recycled textiles, vintage porcelains, dyes, and threads.
The variety of mediums and materials used in Seeing Ourselves reflects the diversity of women artists’ experiences. Derby emphasized the artist statements’ capacity to expand viewers’ knowledge of the work, exploring artists’ philosophies.
By wrapping so many different artistic perspectives into notions of identity, Seeing Ourselves looks bluntly at artists’ whole identities. In creative exhibits like these, self-portraiture extends far beyond the traditional image of a face. “You kind of get a sense of who [the artists] are, because they can take it in whatever direction they want,” Derby said.
For further exploration of artists’ perspectives, the gallery will feature a portrait activity on Saturday, Oct. 4, with three artists in attendance to discuss their work.
Tags
Art gallery, Exhibtion, non-profit, Tett
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